Waterloo woman fatally injured in three-vehicle wreck

A 34-year-old Waterloo woman suffered fatal injuries in a three-vehicle accident on Route 3 west of Red Bud near Red Bud Winery around 8 p.m. on Sunday evening.

According to the Illinois State Police, Melanie D. Guerra is the deceased victim of the accident and was a passenger in a 2014 GMC Acadia driven by 36-year-old Robert W. Guerra, also of Waterloo.

The ISP's accident report states the GMC and the third vehicle involved - a 2002 Mitsubishi Lancer driven by a 17-year-old female - were both westbound on Route 3 three-tenths of a mile east of Old Route 3.

An eastbound 2004 Ford Explorer, driven by 63-year-old Dennis J. Malott of Red Bud - was eastbound at the same location and crossed into the westbound lane. Robert Guerra swerved into the eastbound lane to avoid the Explorer, but the Acadia struck in the right front quarter panel.

After colliding with the Explorer, the Acadia continued on and struck the Mitsubishi.

Robert Guerra received incapacitating injuries, while Malott received non-incapacitating injuries.

Other passengers in the Acadia were a 4-year-old boy, 7-year-old boy, 10-year-old girl and an infant boy. All suffered non-incapacitating injuries and were taken by ambulance to Red Bud Regional Hospital.

The driver of the Mitsubishi, along with two female passengers - a 17-year-old and a 16-year-old - were uninjured. All are from Waterloo.

Route 3 between Select Fuel and Convenience and the winery was closed for five and a half hours while first responders conducted cleanup and investigation. An ISP traffic crash reconstruction unit is still investigating the accident.

Malott was cited with operating an uninsured motor vehicle and improper lane useage.